Forget The Super Bowl: Start Watching REAL Football Now

All American eyes may be on this weekend's Super Bowl, but the
real action will be happening across the Atlantic.

In fact, that's how it has been all during the American football
season and how it will be until May, when the European soccer
season ends.

If you're an American who loves the World Cup, but feels lost the
other 3 years, here's your solution.

The Basics: Here's how European football
works

Pretty much every country in Europe has a league. The only
leagues that matter are the English, Spanish, Italian, German,
French, and Portuguese. The French and Portuguese leagues are
pretty much breading grounds for talent in the other leagues. The
two biggest, best, and one's worth watching are the English and
Spanish.

There are multiple competitions in each country.

In England:

Premier League Championship - 20 teams play
each other home and away once; team with most points at the end
of the year wins title. (Like the NFL regular season.)

FA Cup - All English teams entered into knock
out competition, starting with smallest pub team, all the way
to Premier League Champions. Final at Wembley, London in May.
(Like the World Series, if EVERY minor and major league
baseball team in the country could compete.)

Carling Cup - Weaker version of the FA Cup
(More like the College World Series.)

In Spain:

La Liga Championship - 20 teams play each
other home and away once; team with most points at the end of
the year wins title

Copa Del Rey - All Spanish teams entered into
knock out competition. Played in April.

Then there is European competition. The top four teams in England
and Spain are entered into the UEFA Champions League. They play
against the top teams from all other European countries, first in
group stages, then in knock out rounds, until the final. (This
year at Wembley Stadium in London). There is a secondary European
championship called the UEFA Cup which is contended between the
other top teams in each league and teams knocked out early from
the Champions League.

The ESPN family of networks carries a small amount of games from
the English Premier League and La Liga (Spain). In order to get
serious, you'll need Fox Soccer Channel (English Premier League)
and Gol TV (La Liga). Both carry a bit of the Serie A (Italian)
as well. As another option, find a local bar with these networks
and pay for beer instead of TV.

What you need to know: Follow either the English
or Spanish league, focus on the domestic league and European
competition, get to know your local pub, or get Gol TV or Fox
Soccer Channel.

Now, how to get involved:

Step 1: Determine your level of
availability

Depending on the quality of your team, they could play as many as
60 games a season. Those games usually occur Saturday and Sunday
morning or mid-weeks. If you live on the East Coast in the U.S.,
that could mean waking up as early as 7:00 AM ET to catch your
favorite team in action, though usually you're safe sleeping
until at least 10:00 AM ET with the English league or 12:00 PM ET
with the Spanish league.

Mid-week games start at 2:30 PM ET, so your best bet is
scheduling some "work meetings" so you can catch that all
important cup tie.

Step 2: Watch for a couple months from afar,
fall in love with a team

If you just want to be a fair weather fan, or someone who watches
casually, feel free by all means. But if you're serious about
this and don't just want to pick a team because your friend likes
them, watch a bunch of games over a period of a couple of months.
See how a team plays.

This may seem strange to you, but the reality is football is a
lot about aesthetics. It's about the noise the fans make in the
stadium, the culture around the club, the history of the team,
and most importantly, the style of play.

Football's tactics have evolved over the past 100 years (read
Jonathan Wilson's fantastic Inverting the Pyramid for full detail). Today, teams
play in a myriad of different styles, some more defensive, some
more offensive, some involving short rapid passing in attack,
others an effective counter-attack.

AP Images

For many who have never followed a team before, it's all about
what's easy on your eyes.

That being said, it is a good idea to pick a "big" club — by that
we mean a team in the top flight (4-6 teams) in England, Spain,
Italy, or Germany (in that order). That's not because you want to
be a front runner, but because you need to be able to watch you
team. The TV stations that show the games typically prefer the
big clubs, so it's easier to catch their games live. No point
following a club you can only watch once a year (though web video
is making this better).

Step 3: Pick your club

In England you should be choosing between these 6 clubs:

Arsenal (North London)

Chelsea (South London)

Tottenham (North London)

Manchester United (Manchester)

Manchester City (Manchester)

Liverpool FC (Liverpool)

In Spain you should be choosing between these 2 clubs:

Barcelona

Real Madrid

In Italy you should be choosing between these 4 clubs:

Inter Milan

AC Milan

Juventus (Turin)

Roma (Rome)

In Germany you should be choosing this club:

Bayern Munich

This may seem like a short list. It may exclude hundreds of clubs
throughout Europe, with great histories and tons of trophies. But
it's an honest assessment of clubs you'll be able to watch on a
regular basis in the U.S. who are likely to win something in your
lifetime. This may seem like front-running, but it's actually
just logical. Unlike every other sports team you've encountered
in your life, you're not born into this. Would you really have
chosen the Kansas City Royals or Columbus Blue Jackets if you had
to? No, so don't make this a "lovable loser" issue. Make it easy
on yourself. Pick an (occasional) winner.

Step 4: Get involved

Like any sport, there's plenty of great writing about football on
the internet. Some of the best is found at The Guardian. For
breaking news, Soccernet is a good
choice. If you're really hardcore, follow your team's local beat
writers on Twitter (huge in the UK, somewhat smaller in Spain).
If you suddenly fall in love with the tactical side of the game,
Zonal Marking is the
place to go.

But if you do only one thing, search out English language
bloggers on your club. It will help you get better in touch with
your team, the heart of it, and the struggles it contends with.